Trade Unions and the Age of Information and Communication Technologies in Kenya provides a comprehensive description of the use of ICTs within the trade union movement in Kenya. In this book, Professor Eric Otenyo explores the intersection between new technologies and union as key stakeholders in national governance and development. The dearth of research on how trade unions can play a part in the new economy continues to undermine the effective use of ICTs in development. This book brings to light the challenges that unions face while navigating the new economy and netstate characterized by a proliferation of ICTs and globalization.
This book considers the role of trade unions in national development and governance in Kenya. It covers a range of topics, including union policy positions on the introduction of laptops in schools, technologies and productivity measurements, and e-participation in national and international labor solidarity.
This timely and insightful book provides the key elements needed to understand the nature and prevalence of corruption in public governance, as well as the devastating public policy consequences.
This book interrogates contemporary debates, controversies, achievements, challenges, and future prospects of African development and democratization from varied theoretical perspectives. The diverse issues and sub-themes addressed in this volume include tenets of democracy such as democratization, democratic institutions, good governance, term limits, minority rights, and women’s political participation; and dynamics of development such as economic growth, liberalization, development strategies and models, Millennium Development Goals, uneven regional development,sustainable development challenges, transport development and management, and health and development. Featuring established and emerging scholars, this book is a vital resource for scholars, policy makers, and students interested in African politics and development.
This book examines relations between Nigeria and the United States, analyzing the levels of collaboration and interaction between the two countries since Nigerian independence in 1960. The central objective of the volume is to understand how American policy-makers have thought about and acted toward Nigeria from the time she achieved statehood in 1960 until the end of Obama Administration. There is huge potential in Nigeria; the country has the largest population in Africa and is well-endowed in terms of both human and natural resources. Additionally, it has the largest economy and biggest market on the continent, the largest concentration of Black population in the world, a burgeoning and vibrant youthful population, and a tradition of international engagement since its independence. With a population of over 170 million, and as America’s largest trading partner in Africa, Nigeria is a key power in Africa, and a major player in world affairs. Nigeria’s position in the twenty-first century offers the possibility for a positive new chapter in Nigeria-United States relations.
This book challenges the long-held conventional wisdom that Africa is a post-colonial society of sovereign nation-states despite the outward attributes of statehood: demarcated territories, permanent populations, governments, national currencies, police, and armed forces. While it is true that African nation-states have been gifted flag independence by their respective colonial masters, few have reached fully developed status as a secure nation-state. Most African nation-states have, since independence, been grappling with the crisis of state-building, nation-building, governance, and myriad security challenges which have been chronically exacerbated by the dynamics of the post-Cold War era. To focus merely on the agency of the African political elite and their inability to sustain functional modern nation-states misses the point. The central argument of the book is that an understanding of Africa’s contemporary governance and security challenges requires us to historicize the discourse surrounding nation-building and state-building throughout Africa.
Since their early beginning in Africa as foragers, hunters and gatherers, humans have been on the move. In modern times, their movements have been compelled by geographical, economic, political, cultural, social and personal reasons. However, beginning in the second-half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century their reasons for and pattern of migration have been largely influenced by globalization. Globalization, by its very nature, cuts across virtually every aspect of the human life and human society. And especially in the United States, African immigrants are subject to the undercurrents of globalization – particularly in the areas of culture, religion, interpersonal relationships, and the assimilation and acculturation process. Relying on the vast theoretical and practical experience of academics and public intellectuals across three continents, this book succinctly interrogates some of the pull/push factors of migration, the challenges of globalizing forces, and the daily reality of relocation. The everyday reality and experiences of blacks in the diaspora (Latin America, Caribbean, and Europe) are also part of the discourse and the subject matters are approached from different perspectives and paradigms. Africans and the Exiled Life, therefore, is a compelling and rich addition to the ongoing global debate and understanding of migration and exile.
From the start of its existence organized labor has been the voice of workers to improve their economic, social, and political positions. Beginning with small and very often illegal groups of involved workers it grew to the million member organizations that now exist around the globe. It is studied from many different perspectives – historical, economic, sociological, and legal – but it fundamentally involves the struggle for workers’ rights, human rights and social justice. In an often hostile environment, organized labor has tried to make the world a fairer place. Even though it has only ever covered a minority of employees in most countries, its effects on their political, economic, and social systems have been generally positive. Despite growing repression of organized labor in recent years, membership numbers are still growing for the benefit of all employees, including the non-members. Historical Dictionary of Organized Labor: Fourth Edition makes the history of this important feature of life easily accessible. The reader is guided through a chronology, an introductory essay, 600 entries on the subject, appendixes with statistical material, and an extensive bibliography including Internet sites. This book gives a thorough introduction into past and present for historians, economists, sociologists, journalists, activists, labor union leaders, and anyone interested in the development of this important issue.
This book is authored by some of the renowned scholars in Africa who take on the task to understand how Kenya is governed in this century from a public policy perspective. The book’s public policy approach addresses three general and pertinent questions: (1) how are policies made in a political context where change is called for, but institutional legacies tend to stand in the way? (2) how are power and authority shared among institutional actors in government and society? and, (3) how effective is policymaking at a time when policy problems are becoming increasingly complex and involving multiple stakeholders in Africa? This book provides an updated and relevant foundation for teaching policy, politics and administration in Kenya. It is also a useful guide for politicians, the civil society, and businesses with an interest in how Kenya is governed. Furthermore, it addresses issues of comparability: how does the Kenyan case fit into a wider African context of policymaking? ‘This volume is a major contribution to comparative policy analysis by focusing on the policy processes in Kenya, a country undergoing modernization of its economic and political institutions. Written by experts with a keen eye for the commonalities and differences the country shares with other nations, it covers a range of topics like the role of experts and politicians in policymaking, the nature of public accountability, the impact of social media on policy actors, and the challenges of teaching policy studies in the country. As a first comprehensive study of an African nation, Governing Kenya will remain a key text for years to come’. —Michael Howlett, Burnaby Mountain Chair of Political Science, Simon Fraser University, Canada ‘A superb example of development scholarship which sets aside ‘best practice’ nostrums and focuses on governance challenges specific to time and place while holding on to a comparative perspective. Useful to scholars and practitioners not only in Kenya but across developing areas. I strongly recommend it!’ —Brian Levy teaches at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, USA, and the University of Cape Town, South Africa. ‘This book is an exploration of important deliberations - of interest for those of us interested in deepening the understanding of public policy theories and their application within a specific African setting’. —Wilson Muna, Lecturer of Public Policy, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya ‘This collection of think pieces on public policy in Kenya gives the reader theoretical and practical hooks critical to the analysis of the implementation of the sovereign policy document in Kenya, the 2010 Constitution’. —Willy Mutunga, Chief Justice & President of the Supreme Court, Republic of Kenya, 2011-2016 ‘Governing Kenya provides a comprehensive analysis of public policymaking in Kenya. The book integrates public policy theory with extensive empirical examples to provide a valuable portrait of the political and economic influences on policy choices in this important African country. The editors have brought together a group of significant scholars to produce an invaluable contribution to the literature on public policy in Africa’. —B. Guy Peters, Maurice Folk Professor of American Government, University of Pittsburgh, USA
This paper reviews how women in the developing world access and use information and communication technology (ICT). It examines the discourse and controversies surrounding the digital gender divide, including links to poverty and illiteracy. Major themes concerning women and ICTs are explored, such as women in the ICT workforce, how girls and women relate differently to ICT, and opportunities and barriers for women in science and technology in general. Current research relating to gender and ICT is often country-specific and is more prevalent in developed countries than in developing countries. This paper suggests where additional research is needed on barriers to women s entry and access to ICT. The overall objective of this paper is to influence policy dialogue around women and ICT for development by raising awareness of the digital gender divide. Economic opportunity for women in ICT will not be realized until policies address gender considerations and ensure that ICT investment contributes to more sustainable and equitable development.
